Cons:

When it was announced that Microsoft Game Studios was ending its publishing agreement with Tim Schafer's Double Fine Productions, Xbox gamers everywhere felt like they were getting robbed. As the man behind the beloved PC titles like LucasArts'Grim Fandango and Full Throttle, Schafer's first game as the head of Double Fine looked like it was going to be one of the freshest, most original titles ever to hit the Xbox. Maybe, gamers thought, the game was overrated, and Microsoft was cutting their losses while they still had time. Once you pop Majesco's Psychonauts into your drive, however, you'll quickly see that Microsoft dropped the ball on this one. It's one of the best platformers the system has seen, mostly thanks to its amazing visuals and downright hilarious dialogue.

The game takes place in a children's summer camp that also serves as a training ground for a new generation of psychic super-soldiers. As a wannabe Psychonaut named Rasputin (or Raz, to his friends), you'll come into contact with one of the oddest groups of kids you'll ever see, from a bear-hunting Russian boy to a paranoid little shlub who wears tinfoil on his head. Soon after his intensive mental training starts, however, his classmates begin to lose their minds (literally!) to an unknown threat lurking around the camp. Raz soon realizes that he's the only one who can save the day, and the adventure begins to pick up speed.

Of course, since it's a game that features a spoon-bending protagonist, Psychonauts allows the player to learn a bevy of psychic powers that can help you make your way through the 12 or so hours of gameplay. You'll be able to learn pyrokinesis, telekinesis, and levitation, among other things, and the game does a great job in spacing out the acquisition of powers. Learning new powers will feel like an accomplishment, and it's easy to get wrapped up in just trying them out for a while after getting them (like when I spent a good ten minutes walking around and setting forest creatures on fire). The targeting system works pretty well, too, as you can lock on to an object or enemy simply by facing it. There are definitely times when more precise controls would be a big help, but it never gets too frustrating.

At its heart, the game is a platformer through and through, and it's one of the best you'll find on any system, not just the Xbox. The controls are extremely easy to pick up, though you won't need to do much more than jump (and double-jump, of course), balance on ropes, and swing on branches or pipes. For those moments when you need to call on one of your powers, all you need to do is press a button. You're able to map three of your abilities to the controller, accessing them with either the right trigger or the black and white buttons. The platforming definitely requires a modicum of skill, but it's never particularly challenging (although there are a few unfairly frustrating segments near the end).